Running stitch sampler, made while watching game 2 of the Stanley Cups ~ Boston vs Chicago ~ AND with beautiful Mount Baker in the distance. Lace doily scrap between backing (harem cloth) and scrap cotton, white, light grey, dark grey embroidery floss. Learning how to show depth and texture using monochrome colour, as well as stitch what I love. Not a story yet, or maybe it IS the story!

Summer colour

sunny colour

Stamina: Latin, plural of stamen warp, thread of life spun by the Fates. Definition and origin found here.

Stamina: the ability to last for a decent amount of time when doing an activity ~ defined here.

05/31/2013

This is beginning of my "Whispering White" exploration, the first section of Jude Hill's What If Diaries. It will mellow for a few days, while I look at it in different lights and from different angles, to see where and what comes next, or gets left behind?

In the meantime, I want to get caught up a bit on topics posted after the first 6 or 7. I am so pleased I started by making the Spirit Cloth 101 sampler ~ wonderful preparation and foundation for the "What If Diaries" segments.with the light behind

Nine-patch on a circle ~ detail.

partial applique ~ a tiny "whole-cloth quilt" on the clothes line

﻿﻿window ... something you look through, either literally or metaphorically, to see what is on the other side

05/22/2013

I thought I saw a birdhouse in this tea-stained cotton piece, which now has a woven "thatch roof" ready to attach.

This small tea-stained cotton weaving, is lightly glue-stitched together for now. It is just laid over the first piece ~ might do for a sort-of clapboard-ish bird house siding, with a circle out of center of the weaving, and attached over the dark-ish center in the first piece.

After sitting a spell, these cloths may change their mind and want to be something else.

03/27/2013

Well looky here! My Mam's, great-Mam's, and my doilies airing in sunshine! All shades of whites, some yellowed by time, some tea-stained or unknown-stained. Several are in remarkable condition, but all have been well loved.

Terrific creative inspiration from so many folk in the What-If Diaries and how they are exploring white - I like this alot.

At the north end of my property are these White Birch. Late evening the crows all gather and talk about the day, groom each other, settle down, talk to me (if I have my red plaid flannel shirt on...) How I love these trees.

Two of my "SEESTERS" have swooped in unexpectedly ~ with all their gorgeous finery-fripperies-bibelots ~ from their McMansions and Snowbird Cottages (cackle shriek) and are dragging me kicking and screaming away from my solitaire hermit-ly existence ~ okay I doth protest outwardly, but inwardly and exuberantly gleeful ~ on our annual jaunt. A month earlier than usual, but I'll TAKE it!

Off to the San Juan Islands for a few days, then a "surprise" destination... I'm certain we'll fill their extra luggage with forays at antique and junk shops, bead-yarn-string-jewelry-shoe shopping. Oh I will be dragged into some upscale clothing store - they are appalled at my ragged skivvies on the line, and patched sweatshirts. Tickled me no end to plow through the bags of treasure and booty from Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods) of all sorts! Whoopee! Be back first of (or later) next week. Go careful, y'all!

03/25/2013

Swapped ends of my binoculars to look. at. white. After all, What-If Diaries are cloth, which is made of fibres, so...

These are prototypes for a commission project. The bowl/basket is made of 2 layers of hog gut, aka hog casing, with a white crocheted lace doily sandwiched between. The hog gut is white before processing and drying, the doily is white. After drying, the doily is still white - the hog gut turns a bit creamy-vintage-tea stain colour. What I really love about this bowl/basket is the counterplay of shiny and open translucency of the surfaces and the denseness of the doily giving weight or stability to the wing-ed bowl shape. Does not photograph well against white - looking for a matte black background.

Detail of edge: a crocheted shell or scallop of the doily is not encased between the 2 layers of gut ~ there are three or more such openings in this basket/bowl. Touch, depth, texture, dichotomy are some of what I'm looking for eventually. I need to use a thinner doily or lace item that is thinner perhaps, or more drapey?

The second prototype is also of hog gut. Shaped around a 1/2 gallon milk box, also two layered encasing collected beach , roadside, and field twigs. The gut is quite sturdy, the twigs and such add stability, but I have soldered an armature or frame of thin copper wire (inclusion of copper requested...) for a smaller box/basket, that will provide a sturdy but delicate base with weight or balance, visually as well. I also have some spectacular fibre, Habu Silk Stainless Steel, that I'm swatching to see if it is sturdy enough.

With light behind the basket/box, the twigs are interesting to me ~ bird perhaps landing, or taking off? or?

The Lace N Gut Basket/Bowl and the Gut N Twig Basket/Box. Full morning sun. And I'm OUTA here - the crisp wind and sunshine will not wait! Ciao.

03/24/2013

I am giddy and sore-fingered (long stretch since needle work) from immersion in Spirit Cloth 101 ~ moving though at my normal snail's pace. Something skittish happening with naming - "whispering white" dances around the edges of full-on "white dreams" - sort of like fog rolling in and out of valleys at the edges of mountains. No worries - it'll sort I'm certain.

I'm a "3:15 a.m. broad", so Zentangled this last night while chatting with others in my bunch. I think the whipped (or wrapped?) back stitch practice set it in motion. Sort of says "found white behind", or "form white"? Dunno. Baby steps to white...

This is one of those "didn't see this until I saw the picture". One of the Hubbards in my garden last year, and while stunning in colour, in black and white it causes dissonance for some reason. I'm going to let that idea stew for a bit, there might something interesting in that discomfort.

If someone can tell me where/who wrote this (or the whole quote): art stands on the shoulders of fine craftmanship, I will be ever so grateful.